An Irish rebel executed after a failed revolt against British rule in 1916 was reburied Friday following a state funeral, as Ireland gears up for centenary commemorations marking its independence from Britain.

The exact resting place of Thomas Kent, one of 16 men executed after the failed "Easter Rising" in 1916, was a mystery until remains exhumed at Cork Prison in June were proven to be his.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny, in a graveside oration in Castlelyons in southern Ireland, hailed "the politics, the virtue, the sacrifice of Thomas Kent".

"He and all who gave their lives stirred something deep and essential in those who had previously been hostile or indifferent," he said.

Kent was executed after a small group of insurgents seized a number of buildings in Dublin in April 1916 and declared independence for Ireland from British rule.

Despite being heavily outnumbered by British troops after reinforcements were sent to Dublin, the small group of militants held out about a week before surrendering.

Although Kent did not take part in the confrontation, his arrest was ordered afterwards as he was a leading member of the militant Irish Volunteers group.

Kent was found guilty by court martial, sentenced to death and executed by firing squad on May 9.

He was buried in a shallow unmarked grave in the grounds of what is now Cork Prison.

Thousands of people came to see Kent's coffin, draped in the green, white and orange national flag.

The mass and burial were broadcast live on national television.

In a homily, Bishop of Cloyne William Crean said Kent "sowed the seeds" for the future Republic of Ireland.

Although the rebellion, which caused widespread disruption and destruction in Dublin, had little public support at the time, the subsequent executions and mass arrests are credited with a surge in nationalist support against British rule in Ireland.

After the bloody war of independence 1919-1921, negotiations with Britain led to the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, independent from Britain but still within the British Empire.

The northeastern part of the island of Ireland remained under British rule as part of the treaty and is now Northern Ireland.

The rest became the Republic of Ireland in 1948.

Source: AFP